Before & After – What will you gain from SIGUCCS 2018?

2018 Conference
2018 conference logo

With the ACM SIGUCCS 2018 Conference (October 7-10, Orlando, FL) approaching in few weeks’ time, it’s time for attendees to start strategizing about what they can gain from the conference.

Here are several tips for conference preparation, from a learning standpoint.

Before the conference:
  • What are your learning objectives? Can you find sessions which hit the sweet spot between your institution’s business needs and your professional learning goals?
  • Have you identified any subject matter experts whose brain you want to pick, or exhibitors who may offer potential solutions for your institution’s needs? It may be a good idea to reach out to them before the conference (be sure to bring business cards to the conference).
  • Have you created an itinerary of the sessions that you want to attend? Be sure to use SCHED for up-to-date session information.
After the conference:
  • Have you joined the SIGUCCS Community Facebook page yet? Stay in touch with SIGUCCS all year long at https://www.facebook.com/groups/siguccsfolks/?ref=bookmarks.
  • Are you on the SIGUCCS-L listserv? This email list offers an opportunity to ask questions throughout the year, as well as keep informed about upcoming events.  See our Email Lists page for more information on how to subscribe.
  • If you want to learn from the experts in the SIGUCCS community (or want to share your expertise), consider becoming involved with the SIGUCCS Mentoring Program (learn more about the program during the conference, or on the SIGUCCS website).
  • Were there conference sessions which you wanted to attend but missed out on? Fear not—many of the popular conference sessions may be reprised as SIGUCCS webinars, which are hosted throughout the year. Additionally, be sure to check out the digital library (https://dl.acm.org/dl.cfm) to see if the sessions you missed have associated papers.
  • Were you excited about the vibe and the mission of SIGUCCS? Please help spread the word by letting your colleagues at your school and other institutions about our annual conferences. We’d love to see you again next year!

~Mo Nishiyama

About SIGUCCS Editor

The Special Interest Group on University and College Computing Services (SIGUCCS) is an association of professionals who support and manage the diverse aspects of information technology services at higher education institutions. SIGUCCS is one of 36 special interest groups of ACM, the Association for Computing Machinery, the world's largest educational and scientific computing society. SIGUCCS focuses on issues surrounding the support, delivery, and management of those services, and provides professional development opportunities for its members and the other individuals in the field.